Improvement in sewing-machines



3 Sheets-Sheet 1.

J. A. HOUSE. Sewing-Machine.

No. 206,239. Fjafpted July 23, |878.

Jay 2.

.E 0 l .fwall' 8 VSheets-Sheet 2.

J. A. HOUSE. Sewing-Machine.

No. 206,239. Patented July 23,1878.

INVENTOR ik@ Jil/mes lowse Bg his .d-ttorneys 3 Sheets-Sheet 3.

J. A. HOUSE. Sewing-Machine.

No. 206,239. Patented1u |y23,1s78.

@MD Tanzes v 2-oase V By kbs .ffltfarneys d UNITED raras" y ATENT FFICE.

JAMES A. vl'lOlSE, OF BRIDGEPOR", tfONNFiCTlCUT.

llVlPROVElVlENT IN SEWING-MACHINES.

Specification forming parl of Letters Patent No. 206.239,1lntedJuly Q3, 1878; lllllf'llill fltll Mnyeaiss,

.ln this instance they are shown as adapted to the Wheeler .Sz Wilson No. G machine, which is generally similar to the sewing-machines illustrated and described in an application for Letters Patent of the United States tiled by me May 8, 1878, and in sundry Letters Patcut ot' the United States' heretofore granted me, particularly the patent dated `.\larch 5, 1ste, No. 124,360.

My objects mainl vare to provide au attach-- nient by which to work ornamental figures, button-holes, 85e., at the sidelot'or laterally to and joining with a connecting line of stitchof the machine, and so Vto combine the attachment and its supplemental feeding devices with the machine and its usual and regular feeding mechanism as to admit either ot' the usual stitching heilig iutermitted at any dcsired intervals and the connected lateral ornamental or button-hole stitching performed during the pauses in the forma-tion ot' the usual row of' stitches, or of the employment of theA attachment and its feeding devices withoutthe connecting row of stitching between the succ-essively-worked ligures, button-holes, &c.

My improvements consist in novel organiza. 'tions of parts, and in certain combinations of devices hereinafter iirst fully described, and

then specitically designated by the claims.

ln the accompanying drawings, which show so much ot a completely-orgauized sewingmachine as is necessary toA illustrate the inveution herein claimed, I have shown one way ot' embodying my improvements.

Figure his a plan or top view, with the mg made hy the usual and regular operation 1 in vertical section on the line 2 2 of Fig. 1,'

with the main driving-shaft broken away; Fig. 3, a transverse vertical section on the line 3 3 of Fig. l, with some ot' the parts also in section on the line 3 3 of Fig. 4; Fig. 4, a botton view, with the main driving shaft broken away to lnore clearly show the supplemental feediuv devices. Fig. 5 isa section on the line 5 o of Fig. 1, showing the fabricelamp, its roller, and the manner of pivoting the clamp 5 Fig.6, a view in detail, showing the devices, as seenfrom the under side, for operating and stopping the supplemental feed. Fig. 7 is a dia-gram, with parts in section on the line 7 7 of Fig. 3, to more elearl y show the operation of the attachment.

A. frame-bed, A, and suitable overhanging arm or bracket support thevarious movin g parts ot' the machine, which are in this instance, unless it is hereinafter otherwise stated, the saine as or substantially similarto the improvements shown anddescribed or suggested as moditications in my prior patents, particular reference being here made to the beforerrecited Patent No. 124,360. The driving shaft A' is provided with suitable cams to operate the take-np and the needle a.. A roller, b, at the lower end, B', of the needle-lever is acted upon by a groove, B, in the needle-cam, and a rotary hook 'to seize and expand the loop of needle-thread is driven and operates as fully explained in my said patent. The usual presser-t'oot a and fabric-leed are employed.

A suitable sectional supplemental fabric-` clamp, forming part of my attachment, is shown as eomposed'in part of a centrally-open horseshoe-shaped or U -formcd plate, C, formed with or attached to the outer end of a long arm or lever, C', ihlcrumed on a pivot, c', intermediate its ends. The upper part ot the clamp is formed by the correspondagly-shaped plate or outer end l) of a short arm or plate, Dl, bent downward at its termination in the upper clamp-section and supported at its inner end upon a shouldered post, d, upon which it lits loosely. A stud post or upright. rod. fl, threadslot, e, in this cover-plate, and is ed at the upper end, passes through the arm D', between its clamping end l) and the post d, upon which the perforated inner end of this arm is supported. in the lever C at bottom, and an expansive spring, c, encircles the post, and bears at its opposite ends upon the lever and against the arm of .the top section of the cla-mp. The spring operates with a tendency-to move the upper clamp-section awa-y from the lower one. A thumb-nut, E, upon the end of the post d', abovel the arm D', may be adjusted so as to compress the spring' and bring the clamp-sections together, or bring them suiiiciently near eachother to clamp the fabricsecurely and give to it themovements of the clamp imparted bythe supplemental feed devices hereinafter to be described.

The inner or adjacent surfaces of the clamp-l sections are roughened or serrated as usual,

fora wellfknown purpose, and the presser-foot, Y

when in use, project-s down into the slots or between the forks of `the clamp, so as to admit of the usual feed being when it is not held by the clamp, and without obstruction or impediment from the clamp.

The fulcruin pivote of theelamp -le'ver is shown as com posed-of a shouldered stud, the large or shouldered end ofwhich plays beneath a platev or cover, El, oven-the supplementary feed mechanism. The pivot works above its lshouldered base. in adongitudinal reduced in size, made round, and provided with a screwthread at top to receive a nut, e2, by which, to clamp-'the lever in place. An anti-friction washeris interposed between the under side of the lever and the cover-plate.,

y A roller, E2, is secured upon and freely revolves about a-stud or pendent post-at the heel end of the clamp-lever. The cover-plate is slotted forvthis roller to pass through and move-freely as it is acted upon by the feeding' devices.

In one way of vadapting my improvements to the machine, asin this instance illustrated by the drawings, chg metallic bed-plate or base of the frame is Vrecessed or cut out to form a larger opening in its middle and depressed portion. A supplemental frame, plate, or casting, F, providedv with a suitable openlng extending nearly across it, and for the greater portion of its length, is attached upon t-he top ,of the bed-plate or base of the frame.

This'supplemehtal'frame or'plate F fits at its shoulder formed by the rear end of the' work supporting portion or slightlyelevated part F 'of the frame, and is of suchl a thickness as tobring its top surface about flush with or on the same level as the top surface of said elevat- 'sd front portion F of the machine. The covx,r El is screwed down upon this plate F, and

Ehe plate itself suitably fastened in place ou :he frame. v

Brackets or inwardly-projecting armsf f The threaded stud dis fastened I given the fabric in. this instance cast with the 'supplementary frame or plate F upon its under sideare provided with fixed upright posts or stud-shafts, j'2f2, about which the clamp-lever operating and controlling devices revolve.

Upon the posts fzf2 are mounted cam-wheels or pattern-'disks Gr G', one upon each post. One of these cams slightly overhan gs or overlaps the other at its edge or periphery. The roller E' of the clamp-lever 0 is engaged between and operated by the irregularly-shaped peripheries of the cams, which impart to the clamp a compound longitudinal and transverse movement, or irregular endwise reciprocation and vibratory lnovement. The movements imparted to the clamp may be greatly varied simply by altering the shape ofthe cams.

Each cam has detachably secured to its under side a gear-wheel or spur-pinion, H or H', the pinion H. being secured to and caused to revolve with the cani G by pins or short studs fitting in holes q (1 in the cam, and the pinion H correspondingly fitted to 'the cam G by pins fitting the holes g g. lThese pinions are of corresponding size, and are fitted to the shafts 'f2 so as to revolve freely, and

'motion is imparted to the cam G through or` by way of its pinion from the pinion H, thus causing the cams, when in motion, to revolve at the same rate of speed and 1n opposite 'directions, and act upon t-he roller Ez so as toI cause it to revolve upon its stud inthe endof the lever C', and avoid vinjurious frictional contact of the cams with the roller. The retracting and vibratingfmovements are iniparted to the clamp by the cams. To cause the forward or endwee-thrustl movementof the clamp C D, a spring is employed to keep the elamp always as far advanced as the cams will admit. The roller E2, it should be noticed, is behind the cams. Au expansive spring, h, in a slot, h', in the supplemental` frame or removable plate F, bears upon the pivot c beneath the coverplate E,and acts with a tendency to thrust forward the clamplever O', thus always keeping the roller E2 in contact with the cams peripheries, while readily yielding to admit of the proper action of the cams upon the clamp.

A stopmoticn or intermittent movement is imparted to the cams, iso that when thrown into operation they continue to act upon the clamponly until'the figure, button-hole, Snc., have been sti-tched. front end against the -sewingmacliine-frame 1 In' thisy instance motion vis imparted to 4the cams and their. revolutions stopped by thel following means A ratchet-wheel, l, is mounted upon the shaft fz beneath the pinion Il,

' and-is suitably connected with the pinion so as to revolve with it. A swinging stop-pawl or spring-detent, I', prevents l'retrograde movement of the ratchet. This stop-pawl and its spring i are supported outhe under side ot' the frame or bed of the machine. Upon the under side of .the ratchet-wheel is a Swingin g -der tension, bar is exerted by it as the bar is advanced, so

stop, J, pivoted at its heel to the ratchet inside of its teeth, and acted upon bya spring, Ji', the tendency of which is` to throw the inclined shouldered end or nosej of the stop outward, so as to extend slighly beyond or .outside of the ratchet-teeth. A pin, i', on the ratchet,

near its periphery, limits the outward movement of this Aspring-stopVJ, sothat when its nose is pressed outward by the spring it doesv lower end B of the vibrating needle-lever as itis swung back and forth by its cani.

This action of the needle-lever advances or thrusts forward the bar K, which is retracted or moved toward and held up to the lever end by a suitable spring, k', fast at one end t0 the frame of the machine and at the other to the reciprocating bar. This spring is always unand additional strain upon the that a quick retrograde movement ot' the bar is insured. A suitable guideway for the reciprocating bar is provided, shown -by the drawings as formed by slots L L in the bar working upon'bolts or screws l Z' in the frame base. Vashers arc interposed between the screw-headsand the bar. A spring-pawLlU, to move the ratchet I tooth by tooth, ispivotcd upon the reciprocating plate l( at its heel. Its spring' m actswitha tendency to throw in the paw-l or move it toward the ratchet, so as to engage its teeth by its shoul- -dered pointed nose, as will readily be under stood by an inspection ofthe drawings.

To give a stop-motion or regularly-intermitted feed to the fabric-clamp operated by the cams, the spring m'of the pawl M is weaker than the spring` J of the stop J. By this means, when the ratchet is set in motion and makes a complete revolution, the stop J, when brought again to the starting-point, is held out against its stop-pin i', with its inclined outer end or edgeot' thefnoscj in position to have the pawl slide upon it, as it is constantly moved to and fro without en gagin g the ratchet. The force exerted by the spring J' must be sufficiently greater than that of the spring m to insure the intermittent movement'ofth'e l cams. 'When the attachment'is -to be set in operation the spring'J' is compressedand the stop J moved inward to enable the push-pawl Alllto act on the ratchet.v Y After the ratchctfis given a partial rotation bythe first action ot the pawl upon one 'of its teeth, the stop ceases to interfere with the intermittent or step-bystep rotation ofthe ratchet, pinions, and cams until again brought to the starting-point. The stop is moved inward and the power off its spring overcome by a tripping slide-bar or controlling thrust-arm, N, having a knob, N',

by which it is movable endwisein a suitable guideslot in the frame of the machine. This slide is inclined at its end, and when thrust inward abuts against a shoulder, pin, or short stud,1,ou the stop. A spring, 0, normally holds this stop-tripping slide in its retracted position, and the slide issecured to the lower end of a'stud or thumb-screw, O', ,passing through the frame-base and projecting` above i it in a position convenient to the operatorgr, who may, by moving the stud inward, seti? motion the supplemental feed and the clanpf when desired'. This "slide, it'should han@ ticed, does not'intertere with the operation yot' the ratchetmoving pawl, nor impede the starting movement of the ratchet.v

I have herein described but one way of carryin g out myinvention and applying my improvements. The details of construction may be varied, and obviously some of the partsmay be used without the others, and equivalent mechanism substituted for omitted parts. For instance, friction-clutch mechanism may be used in lieu of the pawl-and-ratchet stop-l motion teedingdevices. The cams may fb'e,

changed so as to work an infinite varietypf i' ornamental as well as other irregular figures, such as eyelets and lmttou-holes of different sizes, &c., simply by the skill of the mecl1an-ic.1

To stitch button-holes, there isonly required the simple change in the outline ot' the cains necessary toadvance the clamp from one end to the other ct the hole at one side, and simultaneously form the row ot'- stitching by `short transverse or vibratory movements of the clamp, then make longer vibratory movement,

`while the cndwise movement of the'clalnp is intermtted, so as to cross-lock the end of the hole, then retreat or move inward, repeating the lmovement given on the advance, and iinally cross-lock the finishing end ot'. the hole and stop at the starting-point.

The operation of the attachmentl hei-einbefore speciiically described, and illustratcdby Vthe drawings, yis`as follows: AThe usual or-reg`` ular row of stitching I?, (see diag am, Fig. 7,) being made cna straight, curved, or'irregular, Ime, according tocxrcumstances, bythe usual operation ot' the'` machine until the point or Vplace of the irregular for 'ornamental figuring is reached, the machine is-stopped', the presser foot raised, and the fabric clamped between the' jaws or upper and lower sections, 1C D, ot' tn eciamp. .'--Thcwniachine isv again setinlno;y tion with the supl'ilementary feed thrown luto operation by the vrcontrolling-sl'ideand thev lirstY ornamentalgure, Q, worked dnrin g the i intermission in the operation of the regular stitching and laterally t-o the stitched linel",

f and connected with it.' Atteuthe completion of the ligurethat is, when a .complete revolution ofthe cams or pattern-wheels has been made-thc supplemental feed is automatically thrown out of operation, as before explained. The machine is thenstopped, the fabric removed fronrthe clamp, the hpresser-foot lowproper dista-nce before clamping in the attachment, and cutoff the waste thread between the suecessively-workd figures, &c.

This connecting line ot' stitching, however, iii man v instances, is highly advantageous, as

by my method of iiiterinittingly forming the row P oi' stitching and then working the iigures I am enabled not only to increase the ornamental appearance of the goods, but also to uni te two or more fabrics and work the iigures either at regula-r or' irregular intervals any desired distances apart by the intermittent operation ofthe needle and regular feed, and the needle, supplemental feed, and attach- 'ment-liighly-desirablc desiderata.

' Upon first starting the attachment feed (sec diagram, Fig. 7) the liread passes from the line I? to or near the center ot' the figure Q,

which is due to the fact that, as those portionsof the cams marked 2 bear against and move in contact with the roller Ez of the clamp-lever, this lever and the 'clamp are moved inward so as to present the fabric to the needle outside of fand laterally to the stitched row I. iVhen those portions of the adjacent edges ofthe cams marked 3 are acting upon the roller the clamp moves'forward and laterally, thus bringing the needle nearer the line- I and making the diagonal stitch 3 ofthe iguie, and from this stitch the thread goes back to the center of the figure as the roller vis acted upon bythe portions 4 of the cams, and the clamp-lever retracted or moved inward. rlliosc port-ions of tlie`cams marked with even numbers', 2 to 16, both inclusive, when acting on the clamp-lever roller, present the fabric with the center of the figure to the needle, and those portions marked with odd numbers, 1 to 15, both inclusive, present the fabric to the needle, so that the star-like arms or stitches projecting in all directions from the center of the figure are formed.

These stitches, for convenience of illustrayt ion, are n umbered vcorrespondingly with the numbers on those parts ofthe cam-edges which.

impart the yi'liovements tothe fabric necessary .to the formation of therespective stitches.

At thccompletion -fot' a figure thecams cease -to revolve with the ,clamp in the starting position .and the goods in position relatively to the needle to resume the regular stitching eon,

necting the figures, or to admit of the movement of the goods to the point at which the t is a diagram representing the movements given the roller of the cloth-clamp lever, and S a diagram illustrating the movements of the goods and clamp or end of the lever opposite to its roller. These diagrams will be understood by reference to the numbers on them and the corresponding numbers on thecains.

I claim as of my own invention- 1. The combination, in asewin g-machi'ne, of a supplementary fabric-clamp and horizontallyrotating cams or pattern-wheels having irregular edges or peripheries, to impart to the clamp, bytheir simultaneous action, compound irregular endwise and vibra-tory movements, substantially'as liereinbefore'set forth.

2. The combination, in a sewing-machine,

substantially as hereinbefore. set forth, of a pivoted lever provided with the fabric-clamp and friction-roller, intermittinglyoperating cams or pattern-wheels, and a spring'by which to keep the lever inpositioii to be operated by the cams.v

3. The combination, substantially as hereinbefore set forth, of mechanism for forming .the usual row ot' stitches, a` supplementary clamp to hold the goods dnrin g the pauses in the formation of said row, the clamp-lever, its roller, cam-wheels acting at their edges upon said roller, and supplementary intermittinglyoperating feeding devices, actuating the scamwheels.

4. Thel combination, substantially as herellnbefore set forth, of the cloth-clamp, its lever acted upon by a spring, and provided with a roller, the cam-wheels, their gear-wheels, and interniittingly-operating mechanism, substaiitially such as described, actuated from the -main drivingsliaf t, whereby the cams, when ions,the ratchet-wheel provided with-the stop, 1

its dctent, the reciprocating plate, `its springpawl, the necdle.- lever, and the controllingslidefor starting the supplementary feed, these members being and operating, substantially as hereinbefore set forth.

7. The combination of thebed-plate or frame, the supplementary frame, its brackets, the bracket-shafts, the cams, and mechanism, substantially suoli as describethfor operating the cams. ,i

8. The combination orimechanisi'n, substantially such as described, for forming the ordinary or connecting row of stitches, the supple,- men tary cloth-clamp, and intermittin gly-acting supplementary mechanism, substantially such as described, actuating said cloth-clamp when thrown into operation to work a sin glc irregular or ornamental ligure laterally to and connected with said ordinaryrow, and then stoppin g' preparatory to the adjustment of the fabric for the continuation of the formationof the ordinary stitching', the combination being and operating"substantially as described, whereby lthe gures may be worked at any desired distances apart, and each by a separate and distinct operation of the supplementary-mechan isln thrown into operation bythe operator, and regularly and positively intexmitted, as set forth. In testimony whereof I have hereunto subscribed my name.

` JAMES ALFORD HOUSE. '*itnessesz CHARLES H. Dumm), FRED. L. HEARsoN. 

